Playing Is Believing

Many things set games apart from other forms of entertainment and artistic media. One of the most fundamental distinctions is the hard-to-define feeling of gameplay – the meeting point between interactivity, control feel, and immersion that comes as you actually sit down and begin a game.

When gauging interest in a game, we all watch videos, look at visuals, learn about characters and story, but it’s really not until you get to actually experience the game for yourself that a picture emerges.

I can’t count the times that an all-important moment has caught me off guard and surprised me. I’ll be convinced that a new game is right up my alley, but within moments of having the controller in my hand, something just feels… off. Conversely, I’ve had games that are completely off my radar right up until I feel them in action, and then something just clicks.